Loan default: Vijayakant’s properties to be auctioned

Three properties owned by actor and DMDK President Vijayakant, including the residence where he is currently living, will go under the hammer for failing to pay bank loans availed from a nationalised bank.

Indian Overseas Bank’s Mount Branch issued a public notice in newspapers on Friday announcing that three properties – two residential premises and Andal Azhagar Engineering College owned by Vijayakant and his wife Premalatha – will be auctioned on July 26.

The bank said it was forced to take the action since the customer has failed to payback the loans on time. “To retrieve the loan amount of Rs 5.52 crore, interests and other costs, the competent authority of the bank has decided to auction three immovable properties of the defaulter on July 26, 2019,” the bank said in the notice.

The properties that would go under the hammer include the residence in upscale Saligramam where Vijayakant currently lives with his wife and two sons. Another residential property in the same area and the college on the Chennai-Tiruchirappalli National Highway would also be auctioned, according to the notice.

There was no response from Vijayakant’s side till the time of writing. A successful actor, Vijayakant carved a niche himself in the Tamil cinema by donning action and sentimental roles in more than 150 movies. Even though the actor had a successful reign in the industry, he was mired in financial troubles and the latest notice calling for auctioning of his properties only reinforce the claims.

In 2005, the actor launched Desiya Dravida Murpokku Kazhagam (DMDK) which made an impressive debut in the assembly elections held the following year by garnering 8 per cent votes. The DMDK’s stock increased in 2009 Lok Sabha polls when it managed to score 10 per cent of total votes polled only to see its fortunes dwindle in the coming years.

The party hasn’t won a single seat since 2014. It won 29 assembly seats in 2011 in an alliance with the AIADMK.